


How to Adopt an Asshole

by emiartse



Series: How to Dadvid [2]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Buckle up motherfuckers, David Acting as Max's Parental Figure | Dadvid (Camp Camp), F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gwen Acting as Max's Parental Figure (Camp Camp), Heavy Angst, Hospitals, Just Add Kittens, Seizures, Whump, gwenvid - Freeform, plot OCs, this is gonna be a bumpy ride
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26731957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emiartse/pseuds/emiartse
Summary: After the events of HTFAA, Max readjusts to his life back home with new friends and a whole new set of problems.ON HIATUS (but will be back)
Relationships: Dadvid - Relationship, David & Gwen & Max (Camp Camp), David & Max (Camp Camp), David/Gwen (Camp Camp), Gwen & Max (Camp Camp), Max & Nikki (Camp Camp), Max & Science Camp Neil (Camp Camp)
Series: How to Dadvid [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945600
Comments: 37
Kudos: 137





	1. Max Just Wants to Go Home.

**Author's Note:**

> IM SORRY THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE POSTED ON THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSY. i was playing stardew valley. 
> 
> ANYWAYS, enjoy.

_ Tomorrow’s the big day. Tomorrow I finally get to go home! _

Max thought gleefully to himself. He was so sick of not being able to go anywhere. Just the thought of walking out of this hospital filled him with delight. The only problem was that he wasn’t feeling too well. He had a pounding headache and he kept feeling his limbs stiffen and then relax. Maybe he just needed to walk around a bit? He’d been stuck in this bed for days.

“Max? Earth to Max?” Gwen waved a hand in front of his face and he snapped back to reality. He’d been doing that a lot today. Randomly staring at nothing and zoning out for a few minutes at a time

“Kid!” Gwen said worry laced her voice, she shook Max’s shoulders gently.

“Huh? Oh sorry. What is it?” Max asked.

“Are you okay? You’re acting strange. Nervous about going home?” 

“Yeah, I think I’m just excited. Is it okay if I walk around for a while? My legs keep falling asleep.”

“Sure kid, want me to go grab David?” She smiled as she responded. Gwen looked in dire need of a shower. The hospital wasn’t exactly the most comfortable place to spend a long stretch of time.

“Definitely, your stink could kill someone at this point,” Max said with a smirk.

Gwen frowned and sniffed underneath her armpit, she winced at her own filth. 

“Okay fair point.”

“I’ll go get him myself, he’s in the cafe right?” Max asked and shifted his legs toward the end of the bed. He hopped on his feet and noticed that his big toe was twitching involuntarily. 

_ Odd. But nothing a good walk won’t fix. _

“Okay, but stay within sight of the nurses. I’m going to take a shower.” Gwen warned and grabbed her toiletry bag from the couch. She and David had been taking turns sleeping on the small couch after Gwen began to pity David’s spine. Most nights, however, he still slept at the foot of Max’s bed.

Max shucked on a pair of sweatpants. He couldn’t wait to start wearing real clothes again, he hated the hospital gowns. They were so...revealing. Max opted to not wear shoes, the nurses didn’t really care anyway.

Max grabbed his phone from his bedside table and walked out into the hallway. He could hear the shower begin from Max’s room and assumed that Gwen had already hopped in.

_ Thank God. _ He wasn’t sure how many smelly hugs he could take.

Max placed a hand against the wall and began making his way to the cafeteria. His bare feet slapped against the cheap tile and Max felt a wave of dizziness crash over him. He hugged the wall and noticed a nurse eyeing him suspiciously. He waved her off and chalked it up to him being hungry. Ironically, he felt full. 

He trekked on and reached the Cafe. He spotted David almost immediately, his dark red hair was easy to find in the crowd of people. Max waved and called out his name, it came out more like a garbled mush of syllables.

Max felt fear pit into his stomach. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew that he wanted to go home tomorrow more than anything. He needed to push through it.

Thankfully, David didn’t notice his call over the endless cacophony of noise that echoed through the Cafeteria. 

Max stood there for a moment, wondering if it was really a good idea to get David. If there was something wrong with him, he didn’t want David to have any reason to prolong his stay here. Max nodded to himself and turned to exit the cafeteria. 

He walked around for a while, it was easy to lose himself in the bland and familiar halls. He ducked past the security and walked into the Maternity ward. The maternity ward had proved to be the most interesting place in the hospital, nobody noticed him here. They just assumed he was someone’s kid, and they were far too preoccupied to notice his hospital gown.

He’d been here by himself a couple of times since he’d gotten here. People here were just...interesting. Lots of new parents wandered these halls and Max had gotten to know quite a few of them. His favorite so far had been a large pregnant woman named Dana. She had given birth to a premature girl the other day. Max had met her the last time he’d snuck out of his room. She had been heavily in labor but had been so kind to Max. She reminded him of his mother, maybe that was why Max decided to visit her room.

Max knocked once on the door and heard a loud female voice tell him to enter. He crept in and watched her face light up with delight as he entered.

“Max! How are you, sweetie?” She said, her voice was like honey and it made Max feel safe.

“Hi Dana, I’m alright? How’s Aliyah?” Max’s voice wobbled a bit along with the rest of his body. Dana took notice and raised her brow at him. She patted the edge of her bed and Max eagerly sat. A tiny voice cooed behind him and Max whipped his head around.

Next to Dana, in a small crib, was a tiny baby with dark hair and beautiful cocoa skin. She looked just like her mother, which was surprising considering she was two days old and the size of Karma.

“Oh! Aww...she’s so pretty.” Max cooed at the baby. Suddenly Dana grabbed his wrist, and Max froze as a voice whispered in his ear.

**“Max, why did you do it?”**

Max jerked back and nearly fell off the bed, he turned around and found that nobody was there. His breathing came out sharp and uneven and he was vaguely aware of someone pulling him down into their lap.

“Shh...Shh...you’re okay, baby.” Dana whispered.

Max’s face flushed red as he realized what had happened. Nobody was there to hurt him, Dana had just grabbed him too fast.

“Sorry…” Max whispered, “That happens sometimes…”

“It’s okay, honey. It’s my fault for grabbing you like that. I was just curious about why you look so pale. You sure you’re feeling okay, Max?”

“Yeah, I’m alright. I think I’m just tired. I should probably get back, I’ve been gone too long already. I was just going to say goodbye, I’m getting discharged tomorrow.” Max replied as he looked up at Dana’s dark eyes that were filled with kindness and love.

“I’m gonna miss you, sweetie. You’ve made my time here wonderful. I feel a lot better about raising Aliyah by myself because of you.” Dana whispered and gently brushed a hand through his hair.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Dana. I wish you both the world.” Max sat up and gave Dana a big hug, which she gladly returned. Max set his feet down onto the floor and knew almost immediately that he should have gone to David. The world swayed under his feet and Max cried out in pain as his knees crumpled and he fell to the floor.

\---------------------------------------------

As she released the boy who had given her so much hope from her arms, she watched as his leg twitched and jerked violently. She was about to comment on it when Max fell from her grasp and onto the floor. The boy rolled onto his back and his bright green eyes stared up at nothing. He gurgled as his eyes rolled back into his skull and Max began to shake violently.

Dana slammed her fist on the call button and climbed out of her bed and onto the floor. She gently rolled Max onto his side and held him firmly as he rode out his seizure. 

It took twenty seconds until a nurse rushed into the room and stared in shock at the scene before her. She quickly called for help and another nurse burst through the door.

Dana sobbed as Max was rushed out of the room and she was left alone with a wailing newborn.

\----------------------------------------------

Gwen sighed in content as she pulled on a t-shirt and a comfy pair of flannel pajama pants. She dried her hair with her towel and let her wet curls fall down loosely to her shoulders. She exited the bathroom and came face to face with David.

She yelped in surprised but quickly regained her composure when she noticed that Max was not by his side.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, did he sneak off again? He has to know by now that we know he leaves the room at night.”

She took notice as David’s lower lip was bitten raw and bleeding. She gently grabbed David’s shoulder and brushed a stray piece of hair from his face. She reached into her bag and grabbed a tissue. Gwen held the tissue to David’s lip and blotted it gently. David was still as she worked to stop the bleeding, his eyes never leaving her face.

“Now, listen to me. I know you worry about him when he runs off but he’s perfectly safe. I promise you. The hospital is swarming with security and Max knows better than to try leaving or going with a stranger. He’s fine, I promise.” Gwen whispered before pressing her lips to his. 

Suddenly the door slammed opened and the two broke away as Max was wheeled in. The boy was placed on his side and had a ventilator strapped to his face. He was seizing violently and had his head thrown back and an uncomfortable-looking angle.

The two tried to rush to the boy’s side but were shoved back onto the couch as the doctors swarmed Max. The child was lifted from the stretched and placed sideways onto his bed. Then suddenly, the doctors stopped working. Leaving the boy to convulse violently by himself.

"What the hell are you doing?! He needs help!" Gwen screamed as she shot up from her seat and rushed to Max's side.

"There's nothing more we can do. We have to wait for five minutes. Lambert? What’s the time?”

“Four minutes since he started convulsions, sir.”

“Alright, if it doesn’t slow down in two minutes, inject him with the  Carbamazepine.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

Gwen looked dumbfounded at the sound of the confusing medical term but she needed to know exactly what they would inject into her kid.

“Carba...Carba-what-now? What’s that? What will that do?”

A nurse gently grabbed her shoulder and moved her into a sitting position before calmly explaining.

“It’s an anti-seizure medication, if it hasn’t stopped in about a minute then we have to inject him. It’s just a precaution ma’am, at least until we find out what’s wrong.”

“Haa...ah...stop...mae...stoph…” Max sputtered out from his hospital bed, his convulsions continued but at a milder pace. Gwen could see from her chair that the veins in his neck were bulging out from all the tension. 

“Maxwell? Max, can you hear my voice?” The doctor asked as he bent down to look over the boy.

“Gehh...away...goh...AWAY!” Max screamed before groaning in pain from all the jostling. 

“He’s slowing down, everyone needs to back up and give him some room.” The doctor ordered, before backing up to the foot of his bed.

“Daa...daad...wah..Dav..ih…” he garbled and his arms moved sporadically to the side, gesturing to David and Gwen.

David bolted up from his position on the couch and moved to Max’s side in a blink of an eye. He gently combed through the boy’s hair as Max grew calmer, the seizure subsiding. In less than two minutes, the boy was as still as the sands. His chest moved rhythmically with his breathing, his body still.

“Alright, he seems to be okay now. The seizure has subsided. Nurse Lambert?”

A young male nurse with blue hair and a slender figure stepped forward and Gwen recognized him as the nurse who he’d called for earlier.

“Keep an eye on him and alert me immediately if he starts seizing again. Give him some more pain medication and a small dose of potassium.”

“Yes sir.” The nurse compiled before he moved to Max’s newly implanted IV and began adjusting some of the fluid.

“Wait, wait, wait. What exactly just happened? He was perfectly fine earlier!” Gwen said, her arms gesturing wildly towards the doctor. 

“You’re his mother, correct?” The doctor asked, his eyebrow quirking upward.

“Yes. I am. So I would very much like to know what the fuck is wrong with my kid!” Gwen hissed back, irritated at the doctor’s question.

“We’ve found that children who have been under high emotional turmoil, or even ones who’ve suffered abuse, in your case it would be at the hands of his biological father, correct?” The doctor paused to look at David.

“Correct,” David said without looking up from Max, who was still unconscious.

“Victims of child abuse tend to be prone to psychogenic seizures, which may seem like an epileptic seizure, but its cause stems from an entirely different source. Max is very young and his mind couldn’t handle all of his emotions, which is what caused his seizure. For these types of seizures, there is very little that a hospital can do for him. If these types of seizures become a regular occurrence, which is a very high probability given all that he has gone through, it may become necessary for Max to seek out a therapist. I recommend a child psychologist who can help Max work through his issues.” The doctor took a deep breath, winded by his long spiel of words.

“Wait, so what you’re saying is that Max had developed a disease because of his trauma?” Gwen asked, confused. She knew that developing disorders due to stress did happen, she just wasn’t aware that they could cause seizures.

“My guess, though you would need to consult an expert, is that young Max has developed a form of PNES, otherwise known as Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. If these seizures continue, then I’d be almost positive of it. However, PNES is more of a symptom than a disorder on its own.”

“A symptom of what?” David asked, suddenly looking up to glare at the doctor. The older man gulped at the intensity of his gaze but still answered him.

“It..um..it could be anything. Most likely, it’s nothing and will go away once Max has had therapy and is in a much happier environment rather than a gloomy hospital. For now, all you two need to worry about is that Max makes a full recovery. I think we should keep him an extra day for observations and I’ll happily recommend a couple of child psychologists for him.”

“Yes, please do. Thank you, doctor.” Gwen stepped in, noting the ferocity in David’s eyes. 

The doctor nodded to her before stepping out to help other patients. The door closed gently behind and Gwen turned to David.

“Are you okay?” Gwen asked.

David sighed and shook his head, he turned to gently cup Max’s cheek before taking a shaky breath.

“I just...I just hoped that everything could go back to normal. But now we have just another thing to worry about. I just want him to be healthy, Gwen. The list just keeps growing. Max already had depression along with some form of an eating disorder. Now we might as well add PTSD and anxiety to that list. And now, seizures? He’s so young, Gwen. So young.” He shook as he spoke and Gwen could see silent tears trailing down David’s face.

She walked over and gently wrapped his arms around him, holding him close to her as he cried. She pressed a palm to his forehead and let her head rest atop his. 

“I know...I know it’s a lot, especially for an eleven-year-old boy. We can do this, though. I believe in us. There is nothing on heaven or earth that can stop us from loving him throughout all of this. And yeah, it’s going to be so fucking hard, but we just have to be there for him no matter what.” 

Gwen felt David nod underneath her touch, so she gently squeezed him before letting go. She moved back to her spot on the couch and grabbed her phone from her pocket. She flitted through her contacts before landing on Dr. Kane.

She answered on the first ring.

“Gwen?” Emilie’s voice echoed from the other end of the receiver. Gwen could hear Oliver babbling and softly chuckled at the baby’s antics.

“Hey, Emilie. I’m calling to give you and Rachelle an update on Max.” 

“How’s my favorite patient this afternoon?” Emilie asked cheerfully. 

“Not well, earlier today he had what the doctor called a PNES seizure? I believe that’s what it was, at least.”

Gwen could practically hear Emilie shift from her bright and bubbly self to her more serious doctor mode. Before Gwen knew it she was being bombarded with questions from the young doctor.

“Wait...wait! Hold up! I can’t think that fast! Slow down!” Gwen scrambled to grab a pen and paper to jot down what she was saying.

“Oops, my bad. Bad habit. Okay, tell me first what happened. Did Max seem odd at all this morning? Any zoning out? Any odd muscle spasm?”

“He was daydreaming quite a bit this morning, but I thought it was just nerves. I didn’t notice any muscle spasms, but I’d need to ask Max about that.”

“Is he awake yet?” Emilie asked. Gwen could hear her tapping a pen on the side of her glasses.

“No...no not yet.” Gwen said, she looked over her shoulder at the sleeping boy, who had a bit of drool trailing down his chin.

“Let me know the moment he wakes up. He might seem a bit confused and his speech might become a bit jumbled. It shouldn’t last long though, most seizure patients feel normal again after an hour or two.”

“How likely do you think it is that this was PNES?”

Emilie took a moment to think before she responded, “Max had no history of seizures. Max isn’t epileptic…” She mumbled to herself for a few minutes before she gave Gwen a definite answer.

“My conclusion is yes, this was almost definitely PNES. All the evidence with Max’s history seems to point to it at least. The doctor was right to give you references to another child psychologist, however. I’m only a pediatrician and Rachelle’s medical knowledge isn’t that extensive. When he gives you the list, send it to me and I'll narrow it down as much as I can. If you want, either you or David can come to lunch with me this week and we can choose one.”

Gwen looked over to where David was sitting and asked, “What do you think David? Me or you?”

“You should go, I don’t think I’m ready to be away from Max yet.” David said solemnly.

“Okay, how about this Wednesday? I’ll get Rachelle to watch Ollie so that you and I can meet up. I know this cute coffee shop downtown, does that sound okay?” Emilie asked.

“Sounds wonderful, see you then.” Gwen said her goodbyes and hung up the phone. She sighed dramatically before slouching down onto the sofa.

“Looks like someone is having a girl’s night out.” David teased half-heartedly

“If you think discussing child psychologists for your traumatized child is what a ‘girl’s night’ is, then sure.” Gwen said, the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“He really is our child, isn’t he?” David said, his eyes wide with realization. He turned to look at the boy and gently ran a hand through his hair.

“Yeah...I mean technically we haven’t adopted him...but yeah, he’s all ours.” Gwen sighed, smiling at Max’s sleeping face.

“I’ve been meaning to talk with him about that. And with you. I want to adopt him soon, I don’t want to risk the chance of losing him again. I don’t want there to be any doubt that he’s my son. I just want to make it official already. Y’know?” David said, and Gwen knew he was being serious.

“And when I do finally adopt him, I just want you to know that you don’t have to take on any legal responsibility for him. I know we haven’t exactly made...whatever we are official, and even if we do things can change. I just want you to know that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want--”

“David,” Gwen cut in, “We’re in this together, no matter what. Even if we don’t end up working out, I still want to be in Max’s life.”

“Of course.” David nodded.

“And...lately I’ve been thinking…” Gwen paused to chew nervously on his lip, “Maybe after Max is home and settled, maybe we could have that first date?”

David turned beet red but it didn’t stop him from teasing her, “Gwen Rivera, are you asking me out?”

“Only if you say yes?” Gwen giggled. She fiddles nervously with her hands as she waited for David’s brain to come back online.

He stared at her for a moment before his body reacted and he lunged forward, crashing his lips against hers. She gasped in surprise but quickly melted into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed him in.

They kept the kiss brief, as Max was still in the room and it felt wrong to make out with David and have Max three feet away. The two parted and let their foreheads rest against one another. Gwen smiled and sighed, “I miss privacy so goddamn much.”

David smirked, “Me too.” 


	2. Max is a Nervous Wreck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG!!!!

The sun was beginning to set when Max swam back to consciousness, his head pounding and his muscles feeling stiff and sore. He let out a small groan when he shifted a bit to the right and jostled his injured shoulder. He heard shuffling coming from his right side and felt a warm hand press against his head.

Max blinked, his vision blurry and unfocused like all of the thoughts running through his mind.

“Max? Can you hear me, bud?” A familiar voice whispered gently, the voice was warm and safe. So Max opened his eyes to search for its owner.

Red hair was matted to his forehead and dark bags circled under his green eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in years.

“David?” Max slurred, his voice thick and shaky. 

“I’m here too, Max.” Gwen’s voice chimed softly, a hand landed in his hair and stroked softly.

“Wha...What..happen…?” Max sounded drunk as he tried to speak. His brain wasn’t quite catching up with his words.

“You had a seizure, honey. But you’re okay now.” Gwen answered, her amethyst eyes seemed sad. 

“Wha...do I...funny?” Max furrowed his brow in frustration as he tried to word the question correctly, “Voice? It...weird.”

David chuckled softly and smiled at him, “It’s just a side effect, it should return soon.”

“Mmmkay...but wha...happen? All..of ih…”

David looked down for a moment as he tried to put the right words together, “You were visiting the woman who had just had a baby, Dana right?”

Max nodded.

“She noticed that you were acting funny and then when you were about to leave you collapsed and started seizing.”

“Oh,” Max said, deflating a bit. He hadn’t meant to scare Dana like that.

“Ith...she okay?” 

“She’s okay, Max. You scared the hell out of her though,” Gwen laughed softly, without any real humor.

Max’s head swam as he felt the drugs kick back in. He leaned back in his bed and did his to fight back the wave of lethargy hitting him at full force.

“It’s okay, Max. Go to sleep. We’ll be here when you wake.” David soothed.

Max nodded and let go.

\--------------------------------------------

Two days later, Max was finally discharged from the hospital with a bucket load of prescription medicine that clanked around in his backpack. He didn’t feel like taking any of it but he knew David and Gwen would send him straight back to the hospital if he didn’t.

Max rotated the orange pillbox in his tiny hand and looked upon the name of the medication. It was a long and confusing word that he didn’t know how to pronounce.

_ Take every six hours?! _

He had at least five other bottles that more or less had the same description. Max sighed. He was so over this.

Max shoved the bottle into his bag harshly and slung it around his shoulder. He leaned over the bed and grabbed the ratty converse that he’d had for years.

When his mother had first bought them for him they had been huge on feet at first. He remembered complaining to his mom that he would break his ankles if he wore these. His mother smiled and ruffled his hair.

“These are for the future, my love. You’ll grow into them one day.”

She was right. They were a perfect size now. 

Max headed to the restroom and changed into his normal jeans and sweatshirt combo as quickly as his injured body would allow him. His ribs winced as he slid his sweatshirt over his narrow frame but he did his best to ignore it. Once he was finished he stepped outside the bathroom and turned off the lights. 

David was waiting for him when turned back into the room, a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes laced his expression. 

“Ready to go?” He asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Max replied, bending over briefly to double-knot his laces.

David smiled and ruffled his hair slightly, “Gwen is filling out the discharge paper right now, but before we go there is someone who wants to see you.”

Max blinked and his eyebrow quirked up in confusion, “Who?”

From behind David a young woman with a baby strapped in a car seat appeared and Max’s face lit up.

“Dana!” Max hurtled himself towards her and wrapped his small arms around her deflating postpartum belly. 

Dana grunted at the impact and David grabbed her shoulder to steady the woman.

“How are you doing, Max?” She smiled and hugged him back with her free arm.

“A lot better, sorry I scared you.” Max released Dana and stepped back, shame burning his ears.

Dana frowned and kneeled next to the boy, placing the baby carrier on the floor next to her.

“Don’t you dare apologize, it wasn’t your fault, okay? You can’t control the things your body decides to put you through.”

“I just feel bad, because I know I scared you and I should never have left my room, to begin with.”

“All that matters is that you’re better now, okay?” Dana said softly, before getting up. 

“Because of you, I’m more confident now. I know I'll be a good mother to my girl and I wish you the best, Max. You deserve it. So don’t let me down, okay?”

Max nodded confidently and Dana quickly said her goodbyes before she and her baby left the room. David closed the door behind her and moved to sit on the bed, he patted the spot next to him motioning for Max to sit.

“I thought we were going to see Gwen?” Max questioned, but sat down next to David regardless.

“I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things beforehand. If that's alright of course.” 

Max nodded and waited for David to speak.

“Well, to start off I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you. You’ve been so brave these last few weeks...despite everything against you.”

Max quirked his brow unsure of where this conversation was going.

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve discovered something. Something that really changes things. And...um if you agree that is...everything…” David trailed off, he seemed to be caught on his words unable to get out what he was trying to say.

“David? What’s this about?” Max asked

“Um...well as you know due to your father’s passing...there is no one left to fight for custody with. No outside familial relations with a bigger claim...nothing like that.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Max sputtered, slightly annoyed that he was taking so long to make a point.

“Geez, kid. Be patient I’m trying my best,” David chuckled, his face flushed with embarrassment.

“Listen, Max. Ever since I’ve known and from the day I met you, you’ve managed to worm your way into my heart like no kid I’ve ever met. Sure, other kids, I was fond of and wished great things for them. But none of them were you, Max. And now that you have nowhere else to go...I was wondering...um...Dear lord why is this so hard to ask!?”

David made a wide gesture with his hands before trying once again.

“Max. It would probably kill me if you ended up with another family. I don’t want that to happen. I want you to live with me,  _ permanently.  _ If that’s what you want, of course.”

Max made a hiccuping sound as his voice was caught in his throat. He took a deep breath before asking in a strained tone,

“You...you wanna...adopt me?”

David turned to look at the boy, his eyes were wide in disbelief.

“Yes, Max. I’m surprised you didn’t already realize this. I know we joked about it before, but truth be told I was always planning on it. And now that  _ he _ is gone. There really is nothing stopping me.” David chuckled.

Max turned and sat on his knees, his shoes kicking against the covers as he shifted. He grabbed David's shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Don’t fuck with me about this. Be serious.” 

“I am serious, Max. I want to be your dad, more than anything in this world.”

Max sputtered, still in denial, “You realize you can’t go back on this, right. I’m an asshole kid, you  _ know _ this. You can’t...you can’t give me back!”

David crushed the boy to his chest and Max eagerly wrapped his arms around him.

“They would have to strap me down in order to take you away. And even then it probably wouldn’t be enough. I’d fight to the ends of the earth to get you back.”

“ _ Why? _ ” Max cried, choking on tears.

“I love you, Max. Nothing will ever change that.”

Now Max was really crying. Tears dripped down his tanned cheeks as he clung to David. No one had ever said that to him and truly meant it other than his mom. And she was long gone.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right—“

“ _ Yes. _ ” Max cut in and he knew deep down that he meant it.

David pulled back, eyes wide as saucers.

“Y-You mean it? You’re serious? Like I said there is no pressure to answer right away. I can give you time to think about it.”

Max pulled back and turned up to look at him.

“I don’t need to think about it, David. I don’t want to be anyone else’s kid. I want to be your kid. My answer is yes.”

A smile as wide and as genuinely  _ David  _ as they come broke out across his face and he pulled Max back against his chest. He hugged the boy as tightly as he dared.

All of a sudden he swept the boy up into his arms and spun him around, laughing gleefully.

Max smirked, always a little uncomfortable with any affection (that was just the way he was though), but if it meant David would be his dad he’d put up with as much as he had to.

\-----------------------------------------------

Max waved at Gwen from the front porch as he watched her enter into her own apartment. The ride home and the discharge had been quiet and comfortable, an air of happiness soaking through the atmosphere throughout it all. Max waited for a few minutes for David to say goodbye to Gwen, he sighed in annoyance, knowing full well why it was taking him so damn long.

He didn’t blame him though. Gwen had told them yesterday that she had gotten a call from her father and apparently he had canceled the rest of his world tour after hearing what happened to Max. Something along the lines of “My first grandchild’s welfare is more important than a goddamn tour, Gwen-bean.” Max had flushed red at that one. So she was leaving in the morning to go visit her folks in New York, hopefully pacifying them from traveling to Maine to visit her. What confused Gwen the most was that her father seemed to know already about her feelings for David, despite having never mentioning anything beyond, “One of the kids from camp ended up at David’s doorstep and I’m going to Maine to help him”

It seemed the older musician had read between the lines.

And it wasn’t just Gwen’s family that had realized that David had fostered Max. David’s mother (who had just recently beaten cancer by sure will-power it seemed) had also called David about Max. David’s mother had been living with her daughter and her family in North Carolina for the past year and a half. Apparently, she had been livid that Max had been kept a secret from her for so long, the woman had half a mind to drive up there herself to meet the boy. David had been doing his best to deter the woman from an impromptu visit, he only managed to delay her for a few weeks.

So they had compromised, David’s mother would stay in North Carolina for a few more weeks, but only if she was able to video chat with her new grandson. Max’s heart swelled, he’d never had grandparents before, both of his having either died long before his birth or still living in India.

Now it seemed he had two sets who were eager to meet him. David had promised his mother that she could call Max as soon as he was settled in back home.

So now Max sat on the porch, waiting for David to stop making out with his girlfriend. After all, he hated being alone. 

**“Max.”** A sinister voice echoed from behind the boy, hissing in his ear. Max whipped around so fast he knocked the chair over. He scurried backward until his back met the fence. 

There was no one there.

Max breathed out deeply, trying to slow his heart that was ribbiting violently in his chest.

“Max!” Another voice called out from behind him and once again he turned toward the voice. Only to find David running up the steps, his hair tousled and his lips red.

“What happened? Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I should never have left you alone!” David cried, gathering the boy into his arms. Max whimpered but allowed himself to be carried into the house.

The boy was gently deposited onto the couch and David quickly crouched in front of him, concern lacing his expression.

“What happened?” 

Max shook his head, “N-Nothing...I thought I heard...I thought I heard someone, but I was wrong,” The boy sighed deeply and shook off the chill that ran up his spine.

“Sorry I worried you, I’m fine,” he assured him.

“You sure? You swear it was nothing?” David questioned.

“Yeah, yeah I swear. Just the wind, it startled me is all.” 

David nodded, still looking mildly concerned. “You okay to stand? I can help you unpack if you want.” 

“No it’s okay I got it, it’s not much.” Max denied, still mildly shaken.

“Okay, if you're sure. I’m gonna start on dinner, then afterward we need to give my mother a call. She’s excited to meet you, Max.”

Max nodded and was about to head into his room when he asked, “Um..what should I call her?”

“Her name is Ruth, but I’m almost positive she’ll want you to call her Nana as soon as possible.”

“Oh..cool. It's just um..in Hindi..we call paternal grandmothers,  _ Dadi _ . But since Nana is so close to  _ Nani _ and she is Canadian, maybe that would be better? I just don’t want to weird her out.”

“Max, she’s going to love whatever you call her. She won’t mind if you call her  _ Dadi _ or Ruth. Whatever makes you comfortable. You’re her first grandkid after all. My sister is already mad you beat her before she could have my niece.”

Max gulped, “She’s mad at me?”

David’s eyes widened and he crossed his hands in a wide gesture, “No! It was just a joke! Julia is thrilled to have you joining our family!”

Max smirked, a mischievous giggle exited his mouth, “Gotcha.”

David sighed, relieved that Max was only joking, “You little troublemaker, go unpack your things.”

“ Theek hai,  _ pitaajee _ .” Max teased before entering his room.

“Wait, Max! What does that mean?!” David called confused and cursing the fact that he couldn’t understand.

Max laughed, forever grateful that his mother had taught him both Hindi and English growing up. It was so useful.

\-------------------------------------------

He was stalling. Max was stalling. The boy was sitting on the bathroom counter trying to fix his wild curls, doing his best to look as presentable and healthy as he could. He could already hear David setting up the laptop in the living room, testing the mic as he went.

Max’s heart rammed in his chest, he was nervous he couldn’t help it. He wished Karma was here then he could at least be distracted by her cuteness. But no, Karma was still at Emilie and Rachelle’s place, she was supposed to be coming home tomorrow. Max had been against that decision but it wasn’t up to him, David had been firm that he wanted a day for Max to relax before returning to full-time care of the kitten.

Meeting your foster father’s mother and sister wasn’t exactly relaxing to Max.

“Max! Come on kiddo, I’ve got the laptop setup. You can’t hide forever!”

Oh, but how he wished that he could! His nerves were shot to hell and his palms were slick with sweat. Max climbed down from the counter and took a deep breath before opening the door.

David turned and smiled at him, and Max noticed the camera was already on. David motioned for Max to come to sit next to him. With shaky legs, he complied and sat stiffly on the couch.

“Hey, there is no reason to be nervous. They are going to love you.” David assured him.

“Easy for you to say, most people are babies when they meet their grandparents. I’m eleven!” Max shot back.

“I wish we could do this another day but I’m afraid there is no stopping my mother. She’s a force to be reckoned with.” David sighed.

Suddenly the laptop began to ping as David’s mother called.

David hummed, “Max why don’t you wait over there for now, and then I’ll call you over after I’ve warmed them up a bit?”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Max practically bolted from the couch and out of sight.

David chuckled before answering the call.

“Davey? Davey, can you hear me? Is the microphone working?” A sweet older voice rang out from the computer and while Max couldn’t see the person talking he hoped she looked as kind as she sounded.

“Yes, Mama. I can hear you. Where’s Julia and Ned?” David asked.

“Oh, those two take too long! I couldn’t wait. They should be here in a few minutes. Now, where is my new grandson? You’ve kept him from me for too long, son.”

David looked up to where Max was standing, he noticed how he was fidgeting with his hair. He smiled, “C’mere Max. It’s okay. Someone wants to meet you.”

Max took two long shaky steps and sat in front of the computer. His mouth turned upwards into a nervous smile as he said,

“H-Hi, I’m Max.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! It took me forever to figure out where I was wanting to take this series but I think I finally figured it out. Thanks for being so patient with me!

**Author's Note:**

> Subscribe to me on Tumblr for HTFAA and HTAAA Updates!
> 
> @emiartse


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